Just a Crush
by ZombieInk
Summary: Young witch, Amanda Higgs, has got a major but innocent crush on a certain Malfoy boy. Read the story to see if and how their romance unfolds. Yes, I suck at writing summaries. Rated K for now, but it will change as the story progresses.
1. Frill, Pink, and Lace

**Disclaimer: **I wish I had written the Harry Potter series. But I didn't, because the AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY TOTALLY AWESOME J.K. Rowling did. I only own the original characters and the plot in this story. :)

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><p>"Amanda!"<p>

The six-year old looked up at the sound of her voice being called. She dropped her toy Snitch on the carpeted floor of the living room and stood up, heading for the kitchen where she had heard her mother's voice.

"I also need you to prepare some pumpkin juice; I hear that Mrs. Zabini is pregnant again, so she can't even drink Butterbeer…" her mother was saying as Amanda was about to enter.

"Amand—" she started to call out again, before noticing her daughter's presence in the kitchen doorway. "Oh, there you are."

Amanda's mother was a tall, petite blonde—the perfect trophy wife. She was currently filing her long, red fingernails while giving instructions to the house-elf, who was standing on a stool, hurriedly stirring something in a large, silver pot.

"Yes, mummy?" Amanda said.

"My dinner party is tonight, so I set out your dress for you on your bed—" she began.

"Dinner party?" Amanda interrupted.

Her mother looked up from her nails. "Yes, my party. Hadn't I told you?"

Amanda shook her head.

"Oh, well, anyway, it's tonight. Like I was saying, the dress I want you to wear is out on your bed. You'll need to change soon, because the guests will be arriving in about an hour."

Amanda almost grimaced, trying to picture what kind of awful outfit her mother would want her to wear.

"Also, you'll need to tidy your room; I went in there and your things were lying all over the place, it's unsightly—"

"Will the guests be spending time in my bedroom, mum?" Amanda asked innocently.

Her mother narrowed her eyes slightly. "Don't interrupt me. I told you to clean your room, so you have to clean your room."

Amanda frowned, but nodded anyway, knowing it was no use to argue with her any more.

"Also, Mitzy will be upstairs shortly to do your hair," her mother continued, gesturing toward the house-elf, who was now pouring some orange-ish substance into a mixing bowl. "_Please_ don't mess it up; I don't want you looking sloppy tonight." She diverted her attention back to her perfectly manicured fingernails.

"Fine," Amanda muttered, turning and walking from the room, her bare feet slapping softly on the floor as she walked toward the stairs. She climbed the spiral staircase slowly, not looking forward to the night's upcoming events.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she traipsed toward her bedroom at the very end of the hall—past her parents' bedroom door, which was closed, then the bathroom, then the hall closet, and then stopped as she reached the second-to-last door in the long hallway—her father's study. Amanda stood just outside the doorway, poking her head in.

Her father, Terence Higgs, was sitting in a tall, green, straight-backed armchair, his feet up on the desk in front of him, reading that day's issue of _The Daily Prophet._ He must have noticed Amanda's appearance at the door, however, because he looked up to see who was there. Seeing his daughter's face, he smiled.

"Hi, dad," Amanda said quietly.

"Hello, dear," he replied. "What are you up to?"

"Mummy told me to go get ready for the party," she grumbled, moving into the room a bit.

Her father chuckled. "Come on, it won't be that bad," he said, folding up his paper.

"I guess," Amanda said, not sounding convinced in the least.

"Miss Amanda, _please_ hold still!" Mitzy the house-elf cried for the umpteenth time. She was standing on a tall stool behind Amanda, who was sitting in her chair in front of her vanity mirror. Amanda protested over-dramatically every time her hair was pulled the tiniest bit by Mitzy's long fingers by pulling her head away. Mitzy was growing more and more frustrated each time she had to start over curling a strand of Amanda's shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair.

"Sorry, Mitzy," she mumbled, crossing her hands in front of her chest.

"I is almost finished, miss," Mitzy sighed, twisting another strand of hair around her finger, magically curling it.

Minutes later, Amanda's hairdo was complete, half of the curls being held up with a sparkling diamond clip. The young witch examined herself in the mirror in front of her, twisting her lips into an unpleasant frown.

"Miss must get dressed now, please," Mitzy said, hopping down from the stool and stepping toward the bed where Amanda's dress lay.

Amanda groaned. "But it's so… ugh!"

Looking half-exasperated and half-amused, Mitzy picked up the pink, silky gown and held it up. "Mistress told Mitzy to make sure Miss Amanda put on the dress."

"I just wish mum had picked a better dress…"

But she allowed the house-elf to drop the gown over her head, careful not to disturb the locks that were neatly piled on top of her head. And as she scrutinized her reflection, she sighed, hating the pink, frilly dress, the too-fancy hairstyle, the sparkling, high-heeled shoes, and her mother for making her wear all of it.

Nevertheless, Mitzy took a step back, gazing at Amanda with her huge, brown eyes. "Miss looks _beautiful!" _she said quietly.

Amanda smiled for the sake of the house-elf, who she had known all of her life and adored. "Thank you, Mitzy." She made to flop down on the bed, but her bottom barely touched the mattress before catching herself, imagining the look on her mother's face if she got even the tiniest wrinkle on her outfit. She sighed again.

"Mitzy, do you know who will be at the party tonight?" she asked, sitting carefully in her chair again.

"I is only knowing a few names, miss," Mitzy replied, picking up various toys and articles of clothing from the floor. "Mr. and Mrs. Zabini, Miss Bulstrode, and the Malfoys."

Amanda's head popped up upon hearing the last name. "Malfoys?" she said. "Er… which Malfoys?"

"I is not knowing, miss," Mitzy said, straightening the covers on Amanda's bed. Then she paused and looked up at Amanda, who was feigning a look of innocent curiosity. "But I is thinking that the youngest Malfoy may be attending…"

This seemed to strike a chord with Amanda, because her eyes widened a tad and the corners of her mouth twitched upward as she tried not to smile. "Oh. Okay," she said, attempting to sound nonchalant about the matter.

Mitzy smiled knowingly. "Miss should go downstairs now, please," she said, crossing the big room and opening the door, gesturing out into the hall.

Amanda stood up, smoothing her dress with her small hands. She looked into the mirror once more, but this time, for some reason, she didn't mind so much that she was wearing so much pink and lace.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Yay! I'm so excited about this story. I know, I know, I have another story up that is far from being finished, but I got the idea for this story and I just had to start writing it. Anyway. I know Scorpius wasn't in this chapter at all, but I promise that he will appear soon. :]

Tell me what you think so far! Don't worry about hurting my feelings, because I just love getting reviews. Ta-ta for now! 3


	2. When We First Met

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from the original Harry Potter series. J.K. Freakin' Rowling does. I only own the OCs and the plot of this story. (:

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><p><em>"Come <em>on_, Amanda," Mrs. Higgs said shortly, her tall, high-heeled boots clomping on the pavement beneath her feet. _

_"I'm coming, mummy," Amanda mumbled, who was previously skipping along a few feet behind her mother, trying to make patterns in the few inches of freshly-fallen snow on the ground. _

_"In here," Mrs. Higgs said, turning suddenly to pull open a glass door with a gloved hand. _

_Amanda followed her mother into the shop. "Hello, Mrs. Higgs," a short, young-looking woman said, smiling welcomingly._

_"Hello, Mrs. Malkin," Mrs. Higgs said, removing a black glove by pulling on her middle finger, then doing the same with the other glove. She tucked the gloves into her cloak pocket. "I believe I have an appointment." She opened one side of her cloak and pulled out a smaller, neatly-folded cloak that looked as though it had been through a blender. _

_"Yes, of course," said Mrs. Malkin, pushing herself off the counter she was leaning on and walking toward them. She bent over, hands on her knees, and looked at Amanda. "Amanda, is it?" she asked, as if she were speaking to someone who had trouble hearing._

_Amanda nodded silently. _

_"I told her not to be stubborn," Mrs. Higgs said as Mrs. Malkin stood up straight again. "Right, dear? You're going to do what Mrs. Malkin tells you to do, yes?" _

_Amanda nodded again. _

_"Good," her mother said. "You're the one who went and tore up your cloak, so you have to behave and get it fixed." She shook the cloak in her hand out as if to prove the cloak was tattered, and handed it to Mrs. Malkin. _

_"Actually," Mrs. Malkin said, "My daughter will be taking care of your daughter today, Mrs. Higgs. She's in training for when she takes over the shop." Not surprisingly, the rather elderly Mrs. Higgs leaned back against the counter, as if standing up without support caused her pain. A younger woman appeared from somewhere in the back of the shop and gestured to Amanda._

_"Follow me, dear," the heir to Madam Malkin's Robes shop said, turning on her heel and walking toward the back of the shop. _

_Amanda did as she was told, and followed her behind a long, black curtain. She jumped up onto a stool as Miss Malkin pointed at it, and let her drape the mess of a cloak on her, starting to pin and stitch. _

_Amanda didn't put up a struggle, but in her mind, she was thinking of how stupid it was that she had to come all the way out to Diagon Alley to fix a piece of clothing. Her mother was originally going to just have Mitzy mend the cloak, but then her father had stepped in, suggesting that Mrs. Higgs take Amanda out to Madam Malkin's to have it patched up. He had said that it would be 'a good opportunity for the girls to bond'. Mrs. Higgs agreed, but she said it was only because she wanted the cloak to be fixed properly, that she didn't want to risk it being messed up further by the old house-elf. Amanda hadn't really been looking forward to spending the day with her mother, who never seemed to want to spend much time with Amanda either, but she didn't say it out loud. _

_After Amanda's cloak was finished, she went to the front of the store and sat down on a bench, staring out the window as her mother chatted with Miss Malkin and paid for the patching job. The snow was falling lightly now; a woman walked past the shop, holding the hand of a young boy, who was clutching a chocolate ice cream cone and licking away at it happily. Amanda's eyes widened longingly and she turned around, running up to her mother at the counter._

_"Mummy, can we go and get ice cream? Pleeeease?" she asked, tugging gently on her mother's green skirt._

_"Hold on, Amanda, mummy's busy" was her mother's answer, and she looked back up at Mrs. Malkin, dropping a few coins onto the countertop._

_"Please, mum?" Amanda continued. _

_"Yes, yes, all right," Mrs. Higgs said impatiently. She waved good-bye to Mrs. Malkin and led a now excited Amanda out of the shop._

_Upon reaching Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Amanda skipped ahead of her mother into the tiny shop, gazing up at the board upon which all the flavors of ice cream were listed._

_"Can I help you lovely ladies?" A man had just emerged from a door in the back of the store, wiping his hands on a towel and grinning at his new customers._

_"What do you want, Amanda?" Mrs. Higgs asked in a bored tone of voice._

_"I want the cherry with chocolate chips, please," Amanda said, standing on her tiptoes to see the clerk over the tall countertop._

_"One Choco-Cherry coming right up!" he said, grinning wider still and turning around to fix the cone. _

_A bell rang from the entrance of the store, signaling that someone had entered the store. Spinning around, Amanda saw a tall, thin woman who reminded Amanda much of her own mother, but with dark brown hair instead of blonde. With this woman was a boy who looked to be around Amanda's age. He had short, blonde hair, which was messy, probably due to the wind that had begun to pick up outside. He had pale skin and a rather pointed face. _

_"Vivian? Vivian Stone?" the woman said, looking at Mrs. Higgs, expressing familiarity. _

_Amanda's mother turned around. "Astoria!" she said, smiling, and walking over to her. The two women exchanged a sort of hug and pulled back, looking at each other._

_"It's been too long, Viv," the brown-haired woman said._

_"I know, I hardly ever see you anymore since school," Mrs. Higgs said. "And, you know, it's Higgs now, not Stone."_

_"Oh, of course. I mean, I even went to your wedding and I still forget sometimes!" the other woman chuckled. _

_"Miss, your Choco-Cherry cone is ready," said the man's voice from behind the counter. _

_Amanda wheeled around, taking the ice cream cone from the clerk's outstretched hand. "Thank you," she said, taking a big bite. _

_"Amanda, don't eat so fast," Mrs. Higgs said, approaching the clerk and paying him._

_"Scorpius, what would you like?" the woman asked, addressing the blonde-haired boy, who was now standing at the counter next to Amanda._

_"Strawberry peanut-butter," he said to the clerk. _

_Amanda's mother and the woman called Astoria made their way to a table near the entrance and started chatting about their husbands, occasionally bursting out laughing in their high-pitched, girlish voices. _

_The blonde boy turned to Amanda, who was still licking her ice cream. "Hi, I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy," he said, holding out a hand._

_Amanda took his hand and they shook. "I'm Amanda Higgs," she said._

_Scorpius Malfoy smiled. "I guess our mums know each other, huh?" he said, nodding to where their mothers sat._

_"I guess so," Amanda said as Scorpius was handed his ice cream and gave the man a few coins. _

_Amanda just looked at Scorpius started eating. She noticed that he had really pretty grey eyes. _

_"Come on, Amanda, it's time to go," came Mrs. Higgs's voice; she and Mrs. Malfoy had stood up from their table._

_"Coming," Amanda said. "Bye," she said quickly to Scorpius, and rushed out of the shop behind her mother._

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><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>Yay, flashback scene! I thought I'd sorta introduce Scorpius into the story a bit early and give some background on how Amanda and Scorpius met. Tell me what you think, and I PROMISE that Scorpius will appear for real in the next chapter! :D


	3. Flying and Jealousy

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any original HP characters-they belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. I just own the plot of this story and any characters you wouldn't read about in the magic of the seven Harry Potter books. (:

Thanks to **WiccanWeasley101 **and **aleera** for the reviews, and thank you to everyone who added this story to their story alerts. It means a lot! 3

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><p>"Pansy, darling!"<p>

"Oh, Vivian, dear, how are you?"

_Puke. _Amanda seriously doubted whether her mother really considered Pansy Zabini as a 'darling'. At least, it hadn't sounded like it about three hours ago when she'd been calling her names, the politest of which being 'slut' and 'a shameful addition to the Zabini family'.

"…and this is my daughter, Amanda," Mrs. Higgs said, pulling Amanda forward by her shoulder. Mrs. Flint peered down at the seven-year-old girl with an adoring smile.

"Oh, she's just lovely," she said, as if Amanda were a piece of jewelry that Mrs. Zabini was considering purchasing.

Amanda forced a smile, but Mrs. Zabini was already moving down the line, arm-in-arm with a tall, thin, slick-looking man, who strode alongside his wife toward the end of the entrance hall where Mr. Higgs stood. Mr. Zabini shook hands with Amanda's father and spoke a word of friendly greeting in his deep, smooth voice, a smile (which was more of a smirk) plastered on his face. Mr. Higgs grinned in return, clapping his old classmate on the shoulder. Behind her, Amanda heard her mother clear her throat very quietly, as if this gesture was inappropriate for her fancy get-together.

Several more guests arrived, bringing with them the same general greetings with Vivian and Terence Higgs. Some couples had brought along their children. Mr. and Mrs. Pucey brought along their ten-year-old son, Mathias; the Stebbins' daughter, Diana, waved at Amanda so girlishly that Amanda had to try with some difficulty to not immediately decide upon disliking her.

But the family that Amanda was waiting did not turn up until after all the other guests had. Astoria Malfoy stepped in the front door first, her long stiletto heel clomping loudly on the stone floor of the entryway, announcing her arrival before her actual presence did. As Mrs. Higgs rushed forward to hug and peck cheeks with her, the second Malfoy moved into the hall.

"Ah, hello, Terence," he said, grinning a tiny, smirk-like grin as Mr. Higgs shook his hand welcomingly.

"Draco," Mr. Higgs replied to the fellow ex-Slytherin. "Nice to see you again."

And finally, in trudged the last, youngest Malfoy. Amanda grinned as she immediately recognized Scorpius, and hoped her cheeks weren't too pink.

Scorpius Malfoy's blonde hair wasn't messy like it was in Diagon Alley; it was slicked back, shiny and neat. He was wearing a nice shirt with black dress pants, and he did not look too happy about it.

As Amanda's and Scorpius's parents moved into the sitting room, still chatting and laughing about grown-up things, Amanda stayed where she was, eyeing the blonde in front of her. Scorpius turned to face her, and smiled slightly. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Amanda replied shyly.

"I know you," Scorpius said, stepping towards her. "You're that girl from the ice cream shop."

Amanda nodded.

"Amanda, is it?" he asked. She nodded again.

"You're Scorpius," she said, pleased at the fact that he had remembered her name.

"Yeah," he said. "So… what is there to do around here?" he asked, looking around the spotless hallway.

Amanda sighed. "Not much. I suppose we could go outside…"

Scorpius grinned. "Ever play Quidditch?"

"Yeah! I love Quidditch! Wanna play?"

Scorpius agreed immediately, and followed Amanda to the backyard.

It was not nighttime yet, but a darkish sort of fog hung over the lawn, making it seem later than it was. Amanda led the way to the little shed behind the house where they kept the Quidditch equipment. Grabbing the rusty handle, she pulled the wooden door open.

"Woah," Scorpius said. His gleaming eyes had immediately fallen upon the biggest broomstick in the shed. He stepped forward and reached out to grab the shiny, brown handle of Amanda's father's broomstick.

"You have a Cirrus?" he asked, running a hand down the broomstick, marveling.

"Er—yeah, it's my dad's," Amanda said, looking at the blonde warily. The broom was one of her father's most prized possessions; Mr. Higgs had used it for the last match he ever played several years ago. It had helped his team, the English National Quidditch Team, win the Quidditch World Cup before he retired.

"Wow," Scorpius said again. "Can I have a go?"

Amanda hesitated. If her father found out she let a seven-year-old fly on his broomstick, she knew he wouldn't be happy. But she couldn't imagine saying 'no' to Scorpius Malfoy.

"Uh, sure. Just… be caref—"

"Cool! Thanks!" Scorpius grabbed the broomstick and pulled it out of the shed, grinning broadly. Amanda rushed out after him.

Scorpius mounted the Cirrus and kicked off the ground, rising immediately into the air. He hovered for a moment, then leaned forward and sped off.

Amanda couldn't help but giggle and watch him admiringly.

Several minutes passed, and Amanda sat down on the grass, gazing up in the sky at the blur of blonde hair whizzing around above her. But soon, the show was over, and Scorpius leaned forward, coming downwards to land neatly on the ground in front of Amanda. Amanda beamed and clapped her hands for him as he whipped his hair out of his face and held the broom above the ground so as not to get any dirt on it.

"You're a brilliant flier," Amanda complimented him.

"Thanks," Scorpius said.

"D'you fly often?"

"No," he said, sitting on the ground next to Amanda. "My mum thinks it's too dangerous." He frowned.

"Really? My dad says your dad was on the Quidditch team with him when they were in school," she said.

"Yeah, my dad used to take me out and teach me to fly while my mum was out. But when my mum caught us once, she got really mad. I haven't played ever since then."

Amanda nodded. Her mother didn't really approve of Quidditch either—_'It's not ladylike!'_ But Amanda still flew around on her own broom sometimes, under her father's approving supervision.

"But there'll be no stopping her when I go to Hogwarts!" Scorpius said, grinning confidently. "I'll be a shoo-in to make it on the Quidditch team there."

Amanda was just about to voice her agreement, but was interrupted by voices coming from the direction of the house. She jumped up, practically grabbing her father's broomstick from Scorpius's hands, and ran back to the shed. After quickly setting the broom back in place, she shut the door behind her and ran back to a surprised Scorpius's side.

But there had been no need to hide the broom—the voices she'd heard belonged to neither her father nor her mother, but Diana Stebbins and Mathias Pucey, who had apparently been shooed outside by their parents as well. Diana spotted Amanda and Scorpius and pointed, starting off towards them. Mathias followed in what seemed to be a reluctant manner.

"Hello," Diana Stebbins said politely, smiling and cocking her head to the side, probably thinking she was just adorable. Mathias just stood there, hands in his pocket, staring at the ground.

"Hi," Scorpius greeted her in return.

"I'm Diana, Diana Stebbins! And you are?" She was wearing an even more girlish dress than Amanda-hers was purple with pink lace and a magenta floral pattern. Diana's blonde hair was straight, so long that it reached her mid-back.

"Scorpius," he answered.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" she said, smiling even wider.

"Yep."

Diana took a step closer to him. "Oh, I've heard a lot about you," she said sweetly. "My mum and dad knew your father well at Hogwarts."

Scorpius gave her a strange look, as if he highly doubted this. But Diana didn't seem to notice—she just stepped even closer to him, all but pushing an increasingly disgruntled Amanda out of the way.

"So, I saw you flying earlier! You looked great," she said, and Scorpius grinned.

"Thanks," he replied.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Scorpius."

She took Scorpius's arm and led him away, chatting loudly about this and that. Amanda was left there, dumbstruck, next to a still silent Mathias Pucey.

They stood there, listening to Diana's distant voice ringing out from wherever she had led Scorpius to. Their silence was broken a few minutes later as Mathias finally looked up at Amanda and said, "Stebbins is crazy. Don't let her get to you."

"What?" Amanda said, looking back at the older boy.

"She's been flirting with me all night, until she saw Malfoy. Once she gets bored of him, she'll find someone else to smother."

Amanda nodded, feeling a bit better. But her jealousy burned as brightly as ever; she couldn't really see how any girl could get bored of Scorpius Malfoy.

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><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>Yay! Chapter update! Sorry it's been so long-I've been unbelievably busy, what with school starting back up again and whatnot. I got a random inspiration to write more today, though, so voila! :D

This chapter didn't turn out exactly as I was expecting it, but I'm not unhappy. Let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks so much for reading! (:


	4. High Heels

"Excuse me, miss, but Miss Amanda's mother is needing to speak with miss, please."

Amanda's shoulders slumped and she looked at Mitzy, who was standing in the doorway nervously, wringing her long, skinny fingers together.

"Do I have to?" Amanda whined. She was sitting contentedly in bed, coloring a picture of a Quidditch pitch with her favorite color-changing quill; the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was speak to her mother.

"Well, she is telling me to—"

"AMANDA! Get down here!" shrieked Amanda's mother's voice from downstairs.

Amanda's eyes widened and she exchanged anxious glances with Mitzy.

"I is thinking you should go, miss," Mitzy said, and then ducked out of the door, her floppy ear disappearing last.

Amanda groaned and jumped off of the bed. She walked quickly out of her room and down the stairs. She stopped about halfway down the spiral staircase when she saw her mother at the bottom of the steps, staring up angrily and tapping her high-heeled shoe impatiently.

"Yes, mummy?" Amanda asked innocently as she continued down the steps and reached her mother.

"Did you happen to go outside during the party last night, Amanda?" said Mrs. Higgs.

_Oh, no,_ Amanda thought. _She knows about Scorpius riding Daddy's broom!_

"Er, no…" Amanda said quietly, not daring to look her mother in the eyes.

"Oh, really. Well, then would you care to explain… this?" she said accusingly.

Amanda looked up and saw that her mother was waving something pink and frilly in her face. "What?" she said, and took the fabric out of her hand. She unfolded it; it was the dress she'd worn last night at the party. With a giant grass stain on the back.

"I told you to be careful not to mess this up, and look what you did!" Mrs. Higgs scolded, wagging her long finger in Amanda's face. "I am so sick of you disobeying me all the time!" Amanda looked down, turning the soiled dress over in her small hands. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, mummy. I didn't think…" Amanda stammered.

"That's right, you _didn't_ think, did you? Now you had better—"

"Vivian? What's going on here?"

Amanda looked behind her. Her father was standing on the steps there, one hand on the railing, looking at his wife with one eyebrow raised.

Mrs. Higgs paused as if thinking of what to say, and then said, "Amanda ruined the nice dress I bought for her at the party last night, dear, and I was just…" She had on her pouty face now, the one that always won her husband over.

"Let me see this," Mr. Higgs said, reaching for the dress.

Amanda handed him the pink, silky fabric, still looking down. It was one thing to be scolded by her mother, which wasn't exactly a rare occurrence, but to be yelled at by her father….

She waited as he examined the dress. "Is this what you're getting so worked up over?" he said finally, gesturing to the small, greenish mark that stood out against the pink.

"Well, yes, I…" Amanda's mother said, placing her hands on her hips. "I mean, the dress was rather expensive, so…"

"I'm sure Amanda didn't _mean_ to stain the dress, right, Amanda?" he said, placing a large hand on his daughter's shoulder. Amanda looked up and nodded enthusiastically.

"And I'm sure Mitzy can clean the dress with no problems… So there's no reason to get so upset, now is there, Vivian?"

Mrs. Higgs's eyes narrowed and she looked furiously between Amanda and her husband. "Yes, yes, there is, Terence!" she cried. "It's not just this dress; it's her constant disobedience towards me! She doesn't know how to follow orders!" Her finger was still pointed in Amanda's face, but she was looking at Mr. Higgs.

"Dear, she is only six years old," he replied. Amanda frowned; she hated it when her parents talked about her like she wasn't even there.

"Well, I wish she would just grow up!" Without a glance at Amanda, she turned and stalked off.

Amanda glowered after her mother, whose heels were click-clacking on the hardwood floor. Sometimes, she really hated her, with her red nails and her big hair and her stupid, annoying clicking-clacking shoes…

SNAP. Amanda jumped as she watched her mother fall backward; two pieces of something black slid out from underneath her, right to Amanda's feet. Mrs. Higgs cried out, and her husband ran to catch her just before she hit the floor. As he helped her up, asking her if she was okay, Amanda bent down and picked up the black objects. She had no idea what they were until she saw her mother nearly fall over again, and noticed her shoes were missing their heels.

"What in the world happened to my shoes?" she cried, and her eyes fell on the heels in Amanda's hands.

Mr. Higgs started chuckling as he watched his wife remove what was left of her shoes. "Well, dear, it seems as though you got your wish!"

"My… what?" she stammered.

"You wished Amanda would grow up, and it looks like she has! This is the first time she's shown her magical abilities," he explained, crossing the room to Amanda. "She made your heels fly off… for some reason." He looked down at her, winking. Amanda grinned back up at him; she had been afraid she was going to be scolded again.

Mrs. Higgs stood there, dumbfounded, and forced a smile. "That's wonderful, dear," she said, looking at Amanda. "We're so proud of you." Amanda held out the heels and her mother took them from her; she turned around again and walked away, calling, "Mitzy! I need you to fix my shoes!"

Amanda smirked and waited until she was out of earshot. She wiped the smile from her face and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to break Mum's shoes."

"I know you didn't, sweetheart. Mummy will be okay, though. And as for this…" He pointed at the pink dress in his hands. "It can be fixed easily."

Amanda grimaced. "Do we _have_ to get it fixed?"

Mr. Higgs chuckled and ruffled her hair.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hellooooo again! Long time, no update. I know. But I want to thank everyone who added this to their favorites or story alerts, because I probably wouldn't have started working on this again without you guys. You know who you are. :)

I'm not too crazy about this chapter. It's basically just a filler. I'm kind of lost for ideas of what events to put in before Amanda gets her Hogwarts letter... So this is the product of a writer's blocked brain that was itching to update! Hooray! Anyway, regardless of the crappy quality of this chapter, review pretty please? I'd really appreciate the feedback! I'll try to get a 5th chapter up soon. And if you have any ideas of thing you want to see in the story, feel free to message me or leave it in the reviews!

Thanks for reading! Hugs and butterfly kisses. (:


	5. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer:** I only own the original characters/places/whatever in this story. If something sounds familiar, it probably belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Thanks to **sara253xxx** for reviewing! You're amazing. :D

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><p>As the days turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months, and the months turned to years, Amanda Higgs began to forget about Scorpius Malfoy. She rarely saw him anymore—the only times they met each other after the party were those few times when they'd pass in Diagon Alley while shopping with their mothers and the one instance, a week after the party, when Mrs. Malfoy dropped by the Higgs's because she had forgotten her handbag at the party and brought her son with her. No longer did Amanda think of Scorpius every day, wishing they could meet again, and no longer did the vision of him soaring through the air gracefully appear in her mind when she saw her father's broomstick. She was growing up, and seemed to be outgrowing her childhood crush.<p>

:::

One day, nearly a month after her eleventh birthday, Amanda was found sitting at the long dining room table, eating her breakfast alone. She looked up as Mitzy the house-elf came into the room, feather duster in hand.

"Miss Amanda, Master Terence would like to speak with miss, please," she said. Amanda put her fork down on the plate and stood, following Mitzy up the stairs. They stopped halfway down the hall; Mitzy knocked on the door of Mr. Higgs's study and pushed it open. Amanda stepped into the room and closed the door after her father thanked Mitzy, who bowed and walked away.

"Yes, Daddy?" Amanda said.

"Come here, Amanda, I want to show you something."

Amanda crossed the room and stood behind the desk next to where her father was seated. He picked up a piece of parchment from the desk and held it up to her. It was a letter. She took it and read the address, which was written in green ink:

Ms. Amanda Higgs  
>479 Rowling Road<br>Bridgwater,Somerset

Amanda looked up at her father. She had never gotten mail before, except on her birthdays. Her father nodded encouragingly and said, "Open it."

She turned over the letter and barely noticed the red sealing as she ripped it open. Inside the envelope were two pieces of parchment. She pulled open the first one and saw that it was written in the same green ink as before.

HOGWARTSSCHOOL  
><em>of<em> WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall  
>(Order of Merlin, Second Class)<p>

Dear Ms. Higgs,  
>We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.<br>Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.  
>Yours sincerely,<br>_Horace Slughorn__  
><em>Deputy Headmaster

A huge smile appeared on Amanda's face as she looked up from the letter; her father was beaming, as well. "Congratulations, darling," he said. "We'll go shopping for your supplies later this week. Can I see that?" She handed him the letter. "Oh, old McGonagall's still there, is she? She never quits… and Slughorn? Oh, he was my favorite! I can't believe he's still there…"

Amanda read and re-read her letter over and over again for the next few days, the same grin re-appearing on her face each time. For years, she had been excitedly awaiting her Hogwarts acceptance letter, and now she had it. Soon, she would be leaving this big, lonely house to go to Hogwarts, where she could stop being bored and do something real.

:::

Amanda had been to Diagon Alley plenty of times before, but never at this time of year. She had expected it to be more crowded than usual because of the new term starting soon, but the alley almost looked like a completely different place.

There were people everywhere—witches and wizards pushing and shoving to get into stores and to keep up with their friends packed the street, making the area feel rather crowded. Every store had extra banners in their windows and signs above their doors, advertising sales and new products to sell to the shoppers. And there were at least two times the usual amount of street vendors and stalls out on the pavement, selling sweets and various supplies for cheap prices.

"Well, I suppose I need to get some money first," said Mr. Higgs, who was walking alongside Amanda, holding his wife's hand. He nodded towards Gringotts Bank, which was coming up on their left, towering over them in all its golden and marble glory.

"Oh, can I come with you, Dad?" Amanda said, grinning. She'd only been to Gringotts once before, a long time ago, and she'd loved it—especially the wild cart ride down to her family's vault. "Please?"

"No, Amanda, I think I'll just run in," he replied, letting go of Mrs. Higgs's hand. Amanda frowned. "I'll meet you two in the robe shop."

"Let's go," Mrs. Higgs said, and led the way to Madam Malkin's.

Amanda followed her mother into the shop. Luckily, there was only one other person in line, and Amanda was able to be fitted almost right away. She hopped up on the stool when it was her turn and stood still as Miss Malkin draped a long, black cloth over her shoulders and started pinning. She looked out of the corner of her eye at the reddish-brown-haired boy on the stool next to her. Mrs. Malkin, the old woman who was working on him, had just finished pinning his cloak; he hopped down, dropping coins into her hand and giving her a smile.

"Come on, Fred, Dad wants us back at the shop!" said a girl's voice from the back. The boy turned and ran out of the shop, saying something about nagging.

"Next!" called Mrs. Malkin in her shaky, old voice, and smiled as a younger, blonde girl—probably her own age—climbed onto the other stool. "Hello, dear. What's your name?" Mrs. Malkin said as she started to work.

"Diana Stebbins," said the girl in an overly-cheerful voice.

_Why does that name sound familiar?_ Amanda thought. Then she remembered—the party, all those years ago, in her backyard, with Scorpius Malfoy and the broomstick and the pink dress…

"Well, you're all finished, hon," Miss Malkin said to Amanda, pulling out the last pin from the newly fitted robes. Amanda turned quickly and jumped down from the stool, careful not to show her face to Diana Stebbins as her mother paid Miss Malkin and thanked her.

"Let's _go,_ Mum!" Amanda said, rushing to the door and startling her father, who had been about to enter as she pushed the glass door open and nearly hit him before he jumped out of the way.

"Sorry, Dad," she muttered, walking quickly out into the street.

"What was that all about?" Mrs. Higgs said as she came out of the shop and gave Amanda a weird look.

"Nothing. Where to next?" she asked, knowing that her mother would probably chastise her for not wanting to be friends with such a sweet and well-behaved girl as Diana Stebbins.

Her mother pursed her lips and pulled out Amanda's supply list from her handbag. She unfolded it and said, "Course books are next."

"That's Flourish and Blotts," said Mr. Higgs.

Amanda always loved going to Flourish and Blotts. She didn't read much, but there was always something interesting about Quidditch or dragons or whatever other topic she was interested in at the time she visited the bookstore. She happily led her family down the street until they reached the storefront, which displayed signs advertising latest releases and upcoming book signings.

The store was packed. Wizards and witches of all ages crowded the long walls of bookshelves, and there was a long line beginning at the front desk and wrapping around the whole shop.

Amanda and her parents split up to look for the books on the list and meet back up at the front of the store. She climbed the staircase on the left, passing a boy with blue hair poring over an old history book. She reached the top, crossing the less-crowded upstairs floor to a bookshelf labeled _POTIONS_. As she walked slowly down the aisle, scanning the titles, she overheard a conversation on the other side.

"…Ooh, mum, look at this one!" said another girl's voice. A book from the other side of the shelf was removed, and Amanda caught a fleeting glimpse of a girl's excited face before she turned to face her mother. "Can I get it? Please?"

"I don't think so, darling. It's very expensive. Maybe next time."

"All right," the girl said. She replaced the book and walked away. Amanda looked at her as she came around the bookshelf, heading with her mother towards the stairs. She had very long, black hair, which was braided into two pigtails that swayed with every step she took.

Amanda finally found the book she was looking for—_Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger—and pulled it off the shelf. Then, curious, she stepped around the shelf and found the book that the other girl had been looking at. It was a book about dragons, entitled _From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide_. Flipping through it, Amanda grinned and realized why that other girl had wanted to buy it. It was full of elaborate drawings of every breed of dragon in existence, complete with descriptions. She closed the book tucked it under _Magical Drafts and Potions._ She found the rest of her books and returned to the first level of the store to find her parents.

She was glad that her parents didn't notice the dragon book, which she had slipped into the stack of course books as her father piled them onto the front desk to purchase them. She knew her mother would have something to say, such as how dragons are not something that a young lady should be concerned about.

They fought their way out of Flourish and Blotts and further down the alley. They soon had not only Amanda's robes and books, but a telescope, various potion ingredients, and a size 2 pewter cauldron to put it all in. They only had two more stores on the list to visit when another, more appealing shop caught Amanda's eye.

"Wow," she said as she gazed up at the exciting display of the shop. Above the front door, which bore a sign that read WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES was a huge, red _W_ that lit up in different colors and patterns every few seconds, sometimes even emitting sparks that fell down onto the street as confetti. Looking through the windows, she saw that the inside was even more interesting—boxes of all sizes lined the walls behind displays of games, candies, fireworks, and all sorts of tricks and joke products. "Oh, can we—"

"No," Mrs. Higgs said. "We're here for your school supplies, Amanda, not for some silly joke shop."

Amanda frowned and looked at her father for help, but his expression was unreadable. "You never let me do anything," Amanda grumbled, but walked away from the joke shop with her parents.

"Come on, now, we've got to get your wand," her mother said, consulting the list.

Ollivander's was just across the street from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. There was a long line, and it was very crowded in the small shop. The old, white-haired man at the counter looked tired, but cheerful. After moving about halfway through the waiting line, Amanda's mother seemed to grow impatient and said, "You know, I just remembered that I need to pick up a few things from Madam Primpernelle's." She turned and pushed her way out of the shop, saying that she'd meet them there when they were done.

They finally got to the front of the line, found Amanda's wand—made of birch with a fairy wing core, springy—and left the shop after paying. She dropped her wand in the cauldron gently.

"All right, we're almost done, then?" her father said, looking at his watch. Amanda nodded.

"But you need a pet, don't you?" he asked, and Amanda grinned. She followed him down to the Magical Menagerie. This shop was less crowded, and Amanda gave her cauldron full of supplies to her father while she looked around.

She walked past shelves stocked with cages with owls, rats, ferrets and gerbils, rabbits, and tanks with fish, snakes, turtles, and toads. Amanda was watching a man feeding a mouse to a large, red snake, when she spotted a girl with familiar-looking braided hair over by the owls.

"Are you buying an owl?" she asked as she approached the girl, who was staring up at a snowy owl on the top shelf.

The girl turned and seemed almost surprised to see that someone was speaking to her when she saw Amanda. She hesitated, and said, "Oh, probably not. My mum says Hogwarts has owls anyway." She blushed then, her already somewhat dark complexion reddening in her face, as if she thought she had said too much.

"Oh," Amanda replied. "So you're starting Hogwarts too, then?" The girl nodded. Amanda smiled. "I'm Amanda, by the way."

"I'm Clarissa. Nice to meet you," she said. "I'd better go…" She smiled and waved at Amanda and turned away, heading towards the door.

Amanda suddenly felt a pinch on her leg. "Ouch!" she said quietly, and turned to see what had poked her.

A tiny, black kitten had jumped up to the top of its cage and was reaching out its paw to try and grab Amanda. Amanda grinned and bent down to peer into the cage, which contained about ten cats, including the little black one. She reached over to pat its small head; it purred, closing its bright, yellow eyes.

"Ah, that's Joanne," said a voice behind her. She looked up to see the owner of the store standing there, smiling and gesturing at the kitten. "She likes to play. Do you like her?"

Amanda nodded.

"Well, she's only five Galleons. Shall I get a cage for you?"

Amanda rushed back to the front of the store, where her father was waiting, still holding the cauldron. "Daddy, can I get a kitten?" she asked excitedly. "I promise I'll feed her and take care of her and everything."

Mr. Higgs hesitated, then nodded and gave her a few Galleons. She walked back to the man and gave him five golden coins; he grabbed a small box from the counter beside him and put Joanne the black cat into it.

"Have a nice day!" the owner called as Amanda and her father left the store.

:::

When Amanda, her parents, and her new kitten arrived home, Amanda ran up the steps with all her things (with some help from Mitzy) to her bedroom. She tossed her cauldron on the bed and opened the cage door, releasing Joanne, who walked out tentatively and looked around the room, familiarizing herself with the new surroundings. Amanda giggled and walked to the wall, where a calendar was mounted. She picked up the quill from the table beneath the calendar and drew an _X_ over the day—August 10th. Less than a month remained until she would leave for Hogwarts.

Later that night, she lay in bed, the moon shining in through the open window, petting a purring Joanne, who sat on her stomach. Amanda looked back on the day, and one particular image stuck out in her mind—Diana Stebbins. But it wasn't really Diana Stebbins that she was thinking about—it was the memory that Diana Stebbins brought to her mind: her mother's dinner party, four years ago. Her backyard, the Cirrus broomstick, and, especially, Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Why, hello there! I'm so proud of myself for updating so soon... This must be a personal record! xD Anyway, I apologize for the lack of Scorpius in this chapter. But I PROMISE that there will be much more of him in the chapters to come. Cross my heart, hope to die. (Well, I don't actually hope to die, but you know what I mean.)

As always, please review! I know this was not a very exciting chapter, but I hope you caught some of the references I made... Brownie points to whoever can find them! :D Thanks to all who reviewed and added this to their story alerts. It means a lot. Hugs and butterfly kisses!


	6. Nice to See You Again

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. But I think we all know that.

Much thanks goes to **ireallyamtellingthetruth **for the review on my last chapter. :D

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><p>On September 1st, 9:45 AM, Amanda gripped Joanne's cage handle tightly and squeezed her own blue eyes tight. Trusting that the barrier would open, she ran forward towards the brick wall. Suddenly, the noises around her changed—the low rumble of tired voices and shrieky train whistles transformed into a cheerful din of excited chatter and cheers. Amanda opened her eyes and realized that she was there—Platform 9 ¾.<p>

The first thing she saw, of course, was the train. Its sleek, red body gleamed in the bright sunlight that shone in through the skylights far above the small crowd on the platform. Puffs of grey smoke came out of the enormous black smokestack on the front of the train, right above a shiny black plaque that read THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS in gleaming gold letters. People stood around the train, some students boarding or hanging out of the windows, still saying good-bye and receiving last-minute reminders from their parents.

Beaming, Amanda looked around and saw that her parents had just emerged onto the platform as well, her mother wearing a red, form-fitting cloak, and her father (who was carrying the rest of Amanda's luggage) dressed casually in a pair of Muggle pants and a green long-sleeved shirt. They smiled and approached her.

"Ready?" her father asked, placing the large trunk down next to his daughter. Amanda nodded her head vigorously.

She stepped forward, setting Joanne's cage on top of her trunk, and she and her father embraced each other, Amanda's head barely reaching his chest. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, ruffling her short, brown hair as their long hug ended. Kneeling down so he was face-to-face with his daughter, Mr. Higgs grinned.

"Write to us," he said.

"Of course, Daddy," she replied. She backed away and grabbed her trunk and Joanne, and looked at her mother, who was looking at Amanda expectantly.

Amanda smiled half-heartedly and hugged Mrs. Higgs with one arm. "Bye, Mum," she said.

"Good-bye, darling," she said, a weird look appearing briefly on her face.

Amanda left her parents standing there, heading for the train. She wheeled her trunk to the door and was beginning to wonder how in Merlin's name she was going to lift it onto the train when a tall figure towered over her. She looked up to see an older, sandy-haired boy wearing a green-and-silver striped tie and a badge that read _Head Boy_. He puffed out his chest and smiled at her, looking a bit intimidating.

"Need help with that?" he said in a deep voice. He didn't wait for an answer; instead, he bent over and lifted Amanda's trunk easily, pulling it up the steps and loading it onto the train.

"Thanks," Amanda muttered, clutching Joanne's cage tightly to her chest.

He gestured for her to get onto the train; she stepped past him quickly and set off down the narrow aisle lining the long row of compartments.

Most compartments were still empty, or at least had only a few people in them, but Amanda didn't want to sit by herself, and she didn't think most of the older students would like very much to sit with a first-year. Besides, she wanted to find a seat with someone she knew, maybe even a certain blonde wizard…

However, she walked down to the very end of the corridor and didn't see him—er, anyone she knew. The rest of the compartments were starting to fill up, though, so she hurried back down about halfway and found a cubicle with only one girl sitting there, who was seated next to the window, staring out. The door was half-open; she poked her head in.

"Er, mind if I sit here?" she asked.

The girl turned her head, slightly startled, to look at Amanda with her brown eyes. Amanda suddenly recognized her as the girl's long, black braids whipped around.

"Sure," the girl said. Amanda couldn't remember her name.

Amanda grinned and pushed open the door the rest of the way. She stepped inside the compartment and placed Joanne's cage on the rack above the benches, and then sat in the window seat opposite the other girl.

"Er… have we met?" Amanda asked.

"Yes," she replied shyly. "In Diagon Alley… you're Amanda."

Amanda grinned. "Yep." She was impressed that she'd remembered her name… and slightly embarrassed that she couldn't remember her name in turn. "And you're…"

"Clarissa," she said.

"Right."

There was an awkward silence then, and Amanda looked out the window. She spotted her parents, still standing on the platform, towards the back, separated from the crowd. She stood up and pulled down the window. Mr. Higgs spotted her and pointed; his wife looked up, too, and the both of them waved. Amanda grinned and waved for the last time as they walked away; she didn't stop until she saw that they were gone, back through the barrier.

She pushed the window back up and sat down in her seat. She looked at Clarissa. "Aren't your parents here?" she asked.

Clarissa shook her head. "They were, but they left already. Mum has to work…"

"Where does she work?"

"St. Mungo's; she's a Healer."

"Cool," Amanda said. "My mum doesn't even work."

"Oh," Clarissa said, playing absentmindedly with her left braid.

Amanda sighed as they fell into another silence. It was mercifully broken after a few minutes when two older students appeared in the doorway. They had apparently thought the compartment was empty, because one of them—a beautiful, strawberry-blonde-haired girl—said, "Oops," and tugged the hand of the other—a boy with bright blue hair. "Come on, Ted, let's find our own compartment." The boy blushed slightly and grinned as he followed the girl, their fingers interlocked, down the aisle.

Amanda stood and reached up after another minute of quiet and grabbed Joanne's cage. She peered in through the small door and saw the bright, yellow eyes of the kitten, wide and nervous-looking. Amanda giggled and opened the cage, reached in, and scooped up the small, black cat. Joanne scrambled to get out of her owner's grip as she was pulled out of the safe confines of her box. But she quickly relaxed after a few strokes on the nape of her neck, and she cuddled into Amanda's chest. Clarissa giggled from the other side of the compartment, almost involuntarily.

Amanda looked over at her. "Want to hold her?" she asked. Clarissa shrugged, but she nodded 'yes'. Amanda held Joanne out to her, and she gingerly took the kitten in her dark hands, grinning.

"She's so soft," she said, patting the cat's tiny black head.

"Mmhm," Amanda said, glad they were talking again.

They talked about Joanne for a while, Amanda telling funny stories about the messes she'd make at home and Clarissa laughing along, saying how cute the kitten was.

Then, suddenly, they heard the loud shriek of a train whistle. The two girls looked at each other excitedly. The Express would be leaving soon, and then they would be on their way to—

"Come on, Scorpius, the train's about to leave!" said a high-pitched, giggly voice just outside of the compartment. Amanda's head snapped sideways, looking towards the door immediately at the sound of that voice and the name which it spoke. She saw a head of curly blonde hair and a pink skirt and… Diana Stebbins. Her hand was wrapped around Scorpius Malfoy's forearm as she pulled him down the aisle.

Amanda's jaw dropped slightly before she caught herself and shut her mouth, settling for silent shock—her shock at seeing Diana Stebbins, and her shock at seeing her with Scorpius Malfoy.

Then Scorpius turned suddenly and looked into their compartment. "Let's just sit in here, Diana," he said, gesturing towards Amanda and Clarissa. "D'you mind?" he asked, looking at them. Amanda grinned and shook her head.

"Okay," said Diana Stebbins, and she released Scorpius's arm as the two of them entered through the opened doorway. She sat next to Clarissa, leaving plenty of room for Scorpius on her other side, but the blonde wizard passed her and sat down on the other bench, right next to Amanda. Amanda's heart skipped a beat and she suppressed a smile.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," she sighed. _He doesn't remember me, of course… It has been years, after all… _

The train whistled again. Diana Stebbins jumped up from her seat and ran to the window. She pulled it down and cried out, "'Bye, mum! 'Bye, dad!" She kept waving as the train started to move. Amanda spotted Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy standing out on the platform as well, and she saw Scorpius out of the corner of her eye, waving a pale hand at his parents.

The train crept forward, slowly at first, but steadily gaining speed. Diana Stebbins soon had to lean halfway out of the window to wave at her parents. Amanda watched the people go by, faster and faster, until the train finally left the platform completely, and the view outside changed to long, green yards of grass and trees and the occasional herd of cattle.

Diana pulled herself back down from the window and returned to her seat, smiling politely. "Oh, how rude of me," she said in her sickly sweet voice. "I'm Diana Stebbins." She extended her hand to Clarissa, who was sitting silently beside her, still holding Joanne.

"I'm Clarissa Thomas," Clarissa replied softly, smiling a bit and shifting Joanne to one arm so she could shake Diana's hand.

Diana looked at the kitten. "She's adorable," she said, reaching out to pat her head. Clarissa nodded. "She's not mine, though," she said, facing forward to look at Amanda. Diana followed suit, looking at Amanda through bright blue eyes.

"She's mine. I'm Amanda Higgs," Amanda told her. _Scorpius doesn't remember, so I doubt she does either,_ she thought as she shook Diana's hand.

"Amanda Higgs?" Amanda turned, slightly surprised by Scorpius's voice. She tried not to blush as she looked at the wizard who had said her name. "Er… have we met?" he said, a faint hint of recognition in his grey eyes.

"Um, yes," Amanda said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. "A long time ago."

His face brightened, slowly but surely. "That's right! Your dad's Terence Higgs, right? He used to play Quidditch for English National. And…"

"You had a go on his broomstick," she finished for him.

"Right! The Cirrus. Wow, that was brilliant. Best broom ever. I can't believe I didn't remember that."

Amanda grinned.

"Diana, don't you remember? You were there, too, right?" Scorpius said excitedly, as if all of this was coming together now, like a mystery that was being solved.

"Er, no, I don't remember," Diana said.

"Amanda Higgs," Scorpius said, grinning at her and not seeming to have heard Diana. "It's been so long."

:::

The rest of the train ride was spent excitedly chatting about what their year at school would be like. Scorpius, of course, spoke non-stop about Quidditch—he would make the team second year and someday become Quidditch Captain, he claimed.

"Who knows?" he said. "Maybe I'll even get in first year! My dad said someone did when he was at school… He wouldn't say who, though."

"What position?" Amanda asked.

"Seeker," Scorpius replied.

"Cool!" Diana interjected. "Er… which one is that, again?" she added. Amanda smirked.

They finally got Clarissa talking, too, after a while.

"I don't know much about Quidditch, myself," she said. "I can't wait for the classes, though. Especially Care of Magical Creatures; it sounds so interesting." Amanda was reminded of the dragon book Clarissa had been looking at Flourish and Blotts, the one that she had bought and was in her trunk right now.

Diana gave a pointed look to Scorpius, as if she shared an inside joke with him about something Clarissa had said. Scorpius either didn't notice or just ignored her.

Later, their discussion was interrupted by a faint voice coming from the corridor outside their compartment: "Anything from the trolley?" An old woman was standing there, pushing a silver cart choc-full of candy. Scorpius grinned and stood, fishing out a few coins from her pocket. He approached the trolley and came back moments later, his arms full of Licorice Wands and Chocolate Frogs. Amanda stood to buy her own, but Scorpius stopped her.

"There's plenty for all of us," he said, and gestured to the small mountain of sweets he had dumped onto the bench between them.

Amanda helped herself to a Chocolate Frog. She popped open the decorative box and took a bite of the frog while she examined the card.

"I got Ronald Weasley," she said.

"Gwenog Jones," Scorpius said. "Wanna trade? I love giving those to my dad—I dunno why, but he always gets this weird look when he sees Ronald Weasley's card." He laughed as they exchanged their cards.

As if she felt like Scorpius wasn't paying enough attention to her, Diana spoke up and said, "Maybe we should get changed into our robes." She stood and pulled out a black cloak from her bag, which was hanging on a hook behind her seat.

Not wanting to leave Scorpius (or to give Diana a chance to get her away from him), but also not wanting to leave Clarissa alone with Diana Stebbins, Amanda got up as well, grabbing her own robes from on top of Joanne's cage. Clarissa replaced Joanne to her cage and the three girls walked out of the compartment. They followed Diana down to the end of the train, where the restrooms were. They waited in line in the girls' room.

"So how do you know Scorpius?" Diana asked casually, looking at her reflection in a mirror on the wall.

"Er, we met a long time ago…" Amanda replied. _We already had this discussion_, she thought.

"Oh, yes, that party that you mentioned," she said, fluffing her blonde hair.

"Mhmm."

"Well, _I_ met him a long time ago, too, but we spent_ so_ much time together this summer," she said after it was clear that Amanda wasn't going to ask about her acquaintance with Scorpius. "And when we met up at King's Cross, it was like fate or something!"

Amanda just nodded and gave a quick smile, not caring to ask what exactly she meant by "fate".

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Hellooooooo there! Sorry, once again, for the late update. I've been so busy with finals and such... But here we are. Now that I'm on break, though, I'll have much more time to write, so look out for more updates soon!

As always, thanks so much for reading and PLEASE review! Hugs and butterfly kisses! :)


	7. Author's Note

Hi, guys. Remember me? Yeah, I don't blame you. It sure has been a while!

So I was going through my stories and I came across this one... and I read through it and I thought... wow. This SUCKS.

So I've decided to re-write it. I dunno if I'll just delete this one and put up a new story (same story, just written differently... hopefully better) or just edit the chapters and replace them. But I'll definitely do something, because I realized how poorly I put this together.

I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to add new "chapters" that are really just author's notes, but I'm probably going to delete the story anyway, so whatever. Livin' on the edge.

Thanks for sticking with me. Lots of love. :)

Hugs and butterfly kisses,

Melly (ZombieInk)


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